Massacre of Harvest
The Massacre of Harvest was the first major engagement between The Bronx OutLawz, Praetorian Guards, Crusaders, & The Bronx Banditz. It marked the start of the Great Civil War. Background Bronx Religious Crisis Covenant culture and society was founded on the belief that they were the chosen of the Forerunner. Piety was partially demonstrated by the "Reclamation" of ancient, and supposedly holy, artifacts. A query in 2010 to a ancient Forerunner AI concerning the large number of "relics" on a world as-yet unvisited by the Covenant revealed a critical flaw in Covenant belief; "Reclamation" was a mistranslation of "Reclaimer", the "relics" on the world were humans, and that humans were the Forerunner's chosen. This information was restricted to only a few in Covenant leadership. They realized the public knowledge would shake the foundations of the polity and potentially destroy it. Those privy to the information moved to prevent catastrophe. They seized control of the Covenant and used their new powers to declare a war of extermination on humanity. The first target was the world that the Forerunner AI had been consulted about: the Crusader colony world of Harvest. Toward Harvest First contact between the Crusaders and humanity involved a number of raids on Praetorian ships in the Epsilon Indi system by a Covenant missionary ship, the Minor Transgression. The raider made a scan of Harvest before being intercepted and destroyed. Following quickly on Minor Transgression's heels was the Covenant cruiser, Rapid Conversion. The cruiser's commander, the Jiralhanae War Chieftain and Ship Master Maccabeus, was ordered to glass the colony. However, the pious Maccabeus opted to delay this in order to search for relics first. This put him in conflict with Tartarus, his more zealous nephew. The Battle The Praetorian Arrives On February 3rd, 2010, Tiara, Harvest's orbital station, detected Rapid Conversion entering the system on long range sensors; the cruiser registered as an unknown object but determined the ship was constructed of materials beyond human science. The Praetorian Guards were not immediately hostile and a peaceful meeting on the surface was arranged. The humans were represented by Attorney General Rol Pedersen and members of the Colonial Militia of Harvest, including its commander, Captain Ponder. Maccabeus arrived at the head of a group of Jiralhanae and Unggoy. The meeting went sour prematurely when an overeager Unggoy attacked and killed Private Osmo. Pedersen was killed, while Staff Sergeants Nolan Byrne and Avery Junior Johnson escaped with a severely wounded Ponder. Maccabeus was wounded by Johnson from a Warthog. Tartarus used Maccabeus' refusal to glass the colony outright, and his shameful wounding at the hands of Johnson, as reason to challenge his superior's leadership. Tartarus killed Maccabeus in a duel and assumed command. Evacuation Governor Nils Thune issued an order for all colonists to assembled in Utgard, the capital, for immediate evacuation. Many chose not to leave and were killed in the subsequent ground battle and glassing. A week after the evacuation order of the Crusader forces destroyed the outer city of Gladsheim. ONI Lieutenant Commander Jilan al-Cygni assumed command of the Praetorain forces and the evacuation plan was finalized on February 23rd. Captured intelligence revealed the Crusader's interest in artifacts and relics to the GSG 9. A mortally wounded Ponder used a fake Oracle to lure the Crusader cruiser into the sights of the colony's Mass Driver. The ship was disabled after two rounds and crashed. In the ensuing confusion and lifting of Praetorain air superiority, a militia strike team secured Tiara. 360 refugee-laden cargo freighters ascended the space elevator to the station and fled into Slipspace, but only 215 freighters managed to escape. Another Covenant ship arrived shortly afterward. It rescued Rapid Conversion's survivors and continues the glassing of Harvest. Bronx Investigation Arabia and Vostok were hit by Crusade Plasma Torpedoes.The Colonial Administration Authority dispatched the Praetorian Argo to investigate the cessation of communications from Harvest, and the scout ship arrived in system on April 20th, 2525. The AI Mack unsuccessfully attempted to warn Argo of the enemy presence. The scout ship managed to send a single signal before being destroyed by the Covenant ship. Argo was followed up by a battlegroup consisting of the destroyer Bronx Heracles, and the frigates of Arabia and Vostok. Captain Maribeau Verendi of Heracles commanded the formation. The ships arrived in Epsilon Indi on October 7th and encountered the same Praetorian ship. The Crusaders ship responded to first contact protocols by broadcasting the message: Your destruction is the will of the gods, and we are their instrument, and then opening fire. The Praetorian battlegroup was soundly defeated in an engagement lasting fourteen seconds. Crusader Point Defense Lasers intercepted many Archer Missiles with the remainder being shrugged off by shields. Plasma torpedoes and lasers destroyed both frigates and heavily damaged the Heracles; the Destroyer managed to escape but took several weeks to limp back to Reach. The Last Mission of Harvest was a fought by the Crusaders and the Praetorian Guards during the Great Civil War. It was the direct follow on to the Massacre of Harvest which resulted in the destruction of the Harvest colony and seizure of the planet by the Crusaders. The Crusaders carried the day with superior numbers and a last-minute tactical maneuver, but suffered heavy casualties.1 Background In early 2010, Harvest was attacked by the Crusaders. The colony was partially glassed with many colonists fleeing on freighters. A Praetorian scout ship and two Frigates were destroyed, and a Destroyer heavily damaged, in an unsuccessful attempt to dislodge the single Crusader ship holding the planet. Thirteen months later on March 1, the Praetorian-wide mobilization was under way, with Vice Admiral Preston Cole assembling a fleet to retake Harvest. Praetorian Battle Group X-Ray is conceived as the largest ever assembled in human history, ultimately consisted of 40 ships with the admiral commanding from the Crusader's cruiser Everest.1 The Battle Admiral Cole's eureka moment.:"Fix bayonets." :—VADM Cole during the final charge quoting Col. Joshua Chamberlain from the 2nd Civil War.3 The Bronx fleet arrived at Harvest on March 1, 2010, and engaged the lone Covenant ship through a slingshot maneuver around the planet. Multiple ships, including the Praetorian Sacramento and the Banditz Lance Held High, were quickly destroyed. Bronx OutLawz weapons, including nuclear ordnance, had very little effect on the enemy. Cole realized the enemy was using energy shields, like the one previously encountered at the Battle of Chi Ceti, and ordered the fleet to fire all of its weapons simultaneously at the target. This overwhelmed the shields and destroyed the Covenant vessel. :"At first it was going well. Then setback after setback, and loss after loss, made what was going to be a quick and decisive win - into five years of hell." :—Captain James Gregory Cutter The Massacre of Harvest, also known as the Dark times' '''of Harvest, was a five year long campaign to retake the devastated Praetorian world of Harvest from the Covenant, beginning in 2010 and ending on February 5th, 2010. Similar in the manner of Operation: TREBUCHET, the Harvest Campaign was a long, drawn out operation, rather than a single battle. Background Contact With the Crusaders The Crusader colony world of Harvest was founded in 2009 by the Praetorian ''Skidbladnir, being one of the furthest colonies from Earth. By 2009, Harvest had become the major agricultural center of the Bronx OutLawz. However, during the same year, there were reports of an unidentified vessel near the planet, and all contact with Harvest ceased soon afterward. Only several thousand civilians had made it back to the Bronx OutLawz, telling of a near unstoppable Praetorian ship. A Bronx OutLaw Battle group of two frigates and a destroyer were sent to investigate,and found most of the surface of Harvest reduced to molten glass. A large alien battleship was found in orbit over Harvest, and transmitted a message of perfect English, calling themselves "The Covenant" and vowing the destruction of Humanity. The ship opened fire with advanced plasma weaponry and destroyed the two frigates, leaving the destroyer to escape damaged. Bronx Counter-Attack In response to this, the Bronx OutLawz went to full red alert, and began mobilizing the largest fleet in Crusade history. However, they needed an experienced commander to lead it. They turned to Vice Admiral Preston Jeremiah Stuart, a now retired veteran of the Insurrection, and brilliant military tactician. Agyeius reluctantly agreed, and was promoted to full Admiral. When Stuart's fleet of forty ships arrived at Harvest, they found the same, colossal ship in orbit. The Praetorian ship immediately opened fire, and began picking off Stuart's ships one by one. Both Magnetic Accelerator Cannons and Shiva-class Nuclear Missiles had no effect on the alien energy shields and the fleet was taking a tremendous beating. It was only a last minute tactical inspiration - firing everything they had all at once - that won the battle, and even then, Stuart had lost thirteen ships. Retaking Harvest Early Victories Pelicans reinforcing troops on Harvest. Despite Serucie's "victory", the Praetorians & Banditz began swarming the Outer Colonies, and were determined to retake control of Harvest. They sent even more ships there, and engaged Crusader forces on the surface as well as in space. The Covenant were clearly looking for something on the planet, and would stop at nothing to find it. The Bronx OutLawz however, continued to retaliate, with most engagements occurring in the ruined cities of Harvest. Surprisingly, the Bronx OutLawz was actually beginning to get the upper hand on the ground, and slowly began to push the Covenant back. It was soon assumed that victory was over the horizon, with Bronx forces taking back most of what was left of the planet. These victories, along with Cole's victory, were being broadcast across the colonies, as a sign of hope to boost morale. However, the Praetorian still had a superior advantage in space, and had won numerous engagements against the little ships the Bronx OutLawz could spare, as Cole had the majority of the fleet spread out across the Outer Colonies. The Bronx OutLawz Strike Back Bronx OutLawz Destroyers glass Harvest. Due to the Banditz victories in space, their ships began to glass even more of Harvest, killing helpless Crusader forces on the surface. More ships began to arrive at Harvest, and deployed many more troops on the ground, eradicating almost all human presence on the planet. Crusader forces were battered, and forced to retreat across the planet, leaving the Bronxes free to scour the planet for the Forerunna artifact they sought. One such instance of the new Members retaliation killed two Supersoldiers, Daimian-23 and Ralph-303, who were fighting on Harvest at the time. After the Praetorian forces on Harvest led by Field Master Re'gish Wamik discovered a Forerunner structure under the ice, the Prophet of Regret sent Arbiter Ripa 'Moramee to lead the excavation operation and retrieve any significant artifacts. In a last ditch attempt to remove the Banditz, the Marathon-class Cruiser, Praetorian Prophecy was sent to Harvest. The Prophecy managed to destroy several enemy ships, and set up a small military presence on the ground. However, the ship was critically damaged, and was stranded with its reactor leaking lethal radiation. An ONI Prowler was present in-system to witness the battle, but (in order to maintain stealth) made no attempt to evacuate any survivors from the Prophecy and jumped out of the system to inform Fleet command instead. Final Liberation of Harvest On January 6th, 2010, while in a Bronx OutLawz staging area in interstellar space, Admiral Preston Cole received a message from Commander Orez of the ONI. Orez informed Agyeius that the Prophecy had repelled newly arrived Crusader warships in the Epsilon Indi System, and that there were survivors to be rescued. The GSG 9 Spirit of Fire was chosen by Cole due to it's role as a "support ship" rather than a warship. The Spirit of Fire, along with a GSG 9 Frigate arrived at the system on 4th February 2010 three days after the Prophecy sent their message. Space Battle Upon their arrival, Serina, the Spirit of Fire's Artificial Intelligence, analyzed the Prophecy and reported that the ships nuclear reactor was damaged and was releasing harmful doses of radiation throughout the ship. The Spirit of Fire attempted to draw the Covenant away from the Prophecy by using its MAC gun and HAVOK Nuclear Warheads upon enemy craft. While it destroyed a number of dropships, they destroyed only one Covenant warship, as the rest gathered behind the Prophecy to avoid being fired upon. Fire Team Lima's Pelican heading towards the Prophecy. Fire Team Lima, commanded by Sergeant John Forge, was transported to the ship, but their Pelican was fired on and made a crash landing on the Prophecy. The landing resulted in the death of a Marine and forced the survivors to use torches to burn their way into the Prophecy. The team split up with Lima-One (Forge) heading for the NAV room and the rest of Lima searching for survivors. Serina noted to Forge that the ships AI "FitzGibbon" may act "peculiar" due to elevated radiation levels. Forge was originally denied access to the NAV room by FitzGibbon due to misconduct in his service record. After Forge reminded him of the Covenant boarders, FitzGibbon gladly allowed him entrance into the NAV room to purge the data. FitzGibbon then activated a three-minute self-destruct timer and informed Forge his team was in Bay 2. Upon his arrival at Bay 2, the team quickly evacuated with some of the Prophecy's crew. After arriving back on the Spirit, the survivors were taken to the Medical Bay, where Serina informed Forge that the radiation poisoning that the crew sustained was too severe and that they would certainly die. After the threat in space was destroyed, the ONI kidnapped a civilian scientist, Ellen Anders. ONI wanted her to decipher a Covenant message written in Forerunner symbols. Anders was then sent to the Spirit of Fire to via the Praetorian's Last Gleaming. Upon her investigation, she concluded that the message meant that "treasure" (Relics) were to be found, but hidden (from the Humans). Shortly thereafter, Anders scanned the northern polar region of Harvest, concluding that there was a structure under the ice. Ground Battle Alpha Base under attack.During the battle, Alpha Base on the northern polar region near the Forerunner structure served as a staging point for Forge's reconnaissance patrol. In the early stages of the ground battle, Anders redirected a squadron of Hornets on their way to Rally Point Baker near Alpha Base to investigate activity readings on Quadrant 4, where they discovered a significant concentration of Covenant forces. Sergeant Forge was sent to investigate further, but the Covenant had already moved on. During this time, Alpha Base was destroyed and occupied by the Covenant while the Crusader forces in the area were scattered. As a response, the Spirit of Fire sent Praetorian reinforcements to retake the Alpha Base. Forge managed to collect survivors, and recaptured the area, destroying the Covenant presence with assistance from Shortsword bombers, and reestablishing the base, from which he lead an assault to capture a Forerunner relic uncovered by the Covenant. As the GSG 9 forces approached the Forerunner relic, the Prophet of Regret ordered the Arbiter to destroy the structure in order to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. However, the GSG 9 managed to destroy the detonator in time, and push into the interior of the structure. Upon capturing the structure, Anders opened up a holographic map of nearby star systems. Several Sangheili disengaged their Active Camouflage and attacked Forge's group. When he and his Marines were pinned down, two Grizzlies were dropped in from the Spirit of Fire to help Forge escape. The Grizzlies arrived in time to save Forge and his men, along with the professor. The Grizzly tanks cleared a path and led Forge and Professor Anders to waiting Pelican dropships to return to the Spirit of Fire, while the Alpha Base reinforcements Marines held off the Covenant. Aftermath With the failure of the initial Crusader counter-attack, the Praetorians were left in control of Harvest. However, the Crusaders was not content with this state of affairs and returned with a larger fleet in 2010 to retake the devastated world, eventually reclaiming it over a five-year campaign. The Bronx OutLaw victory came at the cost of thirteen warships. Cole realized the disparity between the Bronx Banditz and enemy losses "did not bode well". However, ONI Section II propaganda exaggerated the victory to encourage recruitment; initially the foe was claimed to be an Insurrectionist weapon platform but this was later recanted. For their part, the Praetorians celebrated the "Victory of Epsilon Indi" through fasting and prayer. Harvest continued to be contested. The Praetorians continued searching for Forerunner artifacts, while the Banditz refused to withdraw. The Bronx OutLawz finally prevailed in 2010, but the planet lost its remaining strategic value as the Covenant begin its advance into the Inner Colonies. The information gained by the Crusaders from the Forerunner structure led them to the GSG 9 colony Arcadia. Anders was drawn to the same planet after examining the artifact. The Praetorian Guards attacked Arcadia on February 9th, 2010, closely followed by the Sprint Fire. Overall, however, the entire campaign was one of the greatest and earliest Bronx OutLaw victories. Despite the heavy casualties, the Bronx OutLawz had managed to retake Harvest, which although devastated, had important strategic value. The victory also boosted morale immensely across the colonies, proving that at least the Crusader were not invincible, and could be beaten. However, as the Crusaders began to destroy the Outer Colonies and move in on the Inner Colonies, Harvest lost its strategic value, and the Bronx OutLawz began pulling back to protect worlds such as Reach and Earth. Category:Story Arcs Category:Great Massacres